Case studies and rigorous practice are very important, discussing live cases, sharing learning from them, roleplaying help people change their thinking” Here is that nugget of wisdom, that continues to hold true even today
Every company has a unique culture and you should understand what it is in your customer’s shop. The symptoms of a corporate culture are always visible and obvious. In some companies for example the culture revolves around hard-edged negotiations in which the customer’s employees feel compelled to win large concessions. Wal-Mart is probably one of the best examples of this kind of culture, often fighting to get the last tenth of a cent from the cost of something it purchases But there are other companies that willingly pay for good aesthetics and design and truly believe that the best suppliers should prosper along with them. Target, Wal-Mart’s key competitor, reflects this culture.
Cultural value typically includes some level of integrity. In some companies a mere verbal agreement is sufficient. In other companies there can e a verbal agreement or understanding but at the time of signing the contract there could be multiple modifications, objections and side provisions.
Whether you are a street vendor or a corporate giant, customers matter. Every company is concerned about growth, at least to some degree. Most companies want growth that is profitable, they don’t want to sacrifice margins for more revenue that isn’t always easy to achieve. The sales person’s major challenge is to help customers achieve both revenue growth and profit growth. For this, understand the customers corporate culture, its dominant psychology and values is most critical
The building blocks of training
Training for value creation sales (VCS) must make sales people aware of the new skills they need to acquire and help them practice those skills. PowerPoint presentation the basis of most training today is not enough. VCS is such a major change for experienced sales people, who are conditioned to think and act in certain ways, that it takes tremendous discipline to rearrange the synapses in the brain. Case studies and rigorous practice are very important, discussing live cases, sharing learning from them, roleplaying help people change their thinking.
Most sales people succeed because of their intuitiveness and perceptiveness. VCS requires more in terms of logic, use of information and sharp analytics. This can be a little frightening and create a sense of failure, which itself can block learning. Even change in terminology can be challenging as in the paper industry, which tends to use ‘tons’ instead of ‘revenues’ or banking which refer to ‘assets’ than ‘revenue’. Assurances that these concepts are not difficult to master may remove some worries but finally, it is the actual mastery of the content that builds confidence
The key to mastering any kind of sale is switching statements about you – how great you are, and what you do – to statements about them
– Jeffrey Gitomer –
